On a bylane in Porvorim, a village in North Goa stands a quaint one storey building. Built by a young entrepreneur at a time when most young women delivered babies at home, or on floors while waiting for medical attention; it was perhaps the first private nursing home that Goa saw. Eighty-one years later it still stands.
I never had the pleasure of meeting its founder, he died much too early, in the same way he lived, always caring for his patients; but his legacy still lives on. I have heard many a story of cases he was called in for a consultation by many senior obstetricians; this at a time when there were forceps instead of Caesarians; only one’s hand and one’s stethoscope and no ultrasound machines. It was also a time when obstetrics was more of an art, and therefore so much more difficult to practise. My grandfather Dr Antonio, I hear, was an artist.
His legacy lives on in my father (Dr Sidney Pinto do Rosario). At age 22, with my grandfather’s sudden passing away, he did something not many would be able or willing to do, and took on full responsibility for the practice. I can only imagine how terrifying that must have been. On September 5, 2019, he completes 50 years of taking over the hospital (Dr Antonio Pinto do Rosario Maternity Hospital). I grew up witnessing my father toiling day and night, his patients always a priority. He seems to have a sixth sense about him, and it is a pleasure to watch him work.
His babies are now coming to him for their own deliveries and he still works with so much zeal. He is an obstetrician, a general practitioner, a confidante and a true comfort to his patients. My husband Dr Neeraj Kulkarni and I are both Obstetricians and Gynecologists and have come back to our roots in Goa. We are now practising under his able guidance.
People often ask me why I took up Obstetrics. The truth is I never had to look far for inspiration. It was always right there, even when I didn’t know it. I can hope to one day acquire as much skill, to practise with so much ethics, and to live my profession as fully as my father does and my grandfather did.
